The Dhammapada - Twin Verses

Following the dualities of the mind

as birds of prey follow their next victim,

we are the net result of our thoughts.

Becoming enamored with false conceptions

of self and other, the mind dictates

who we think we are.

Dwelling on the duality of joy and sorrow,

surely we shall never free ourselves of our collective delusion.

For those who can overcome such negative thoughts,

those negative thoughts will cease to be a cause of self-hatred.

Duality cannot consume the flame of sorrow,

only its polar opposite of love can.

Forgetting the impermanence of self and other,

conquering the confines of death

ceases to be.

The wise, however, who are mindful

of death, put an end to the mindless

quarreling of the mind.

Not being able to blow down

a sadhaka who is full of mountain like strength

and faith, Mara has no hold over the mind of enlightenment.

Prematurely adopting the renounced order of life

and proudly wearing the saffron robe,

those who lack the truth of self-discipline

fall to the way side and eventually

give up on being someone of importance.

Following one fruitless dream after another,

thinking that this or that dream will be it,

the foolish bask in the glories of vain pleasure

and never see the light of day.

Being non-dualistic, the wise

know what is of the essence

and pursue that which is truly pursuable.

As slippery as thoughts are,

so too does the untrained mind

of a sadhaka slip through reality.

The wise, who have seen through the mind

being controllable by an external force,

see reality as it is and the rain of sorrow

no longer accumulates within their well trained mind.

The selfish are caught up in their own selfishness.

Being caught in a self, the selfish have no refuge

from the consequences of their actions

and thus they continue to accumulate

negative thoughts in the form of selfishness.

The selfless, who are free of the need to be,

rejoice in both this world and the next,

knowing that being selfless bears a true fruit of joy.

Perfecting the mind without

having to rely on the learned opinions of the scriptures,

the wise stand as if above the world of superiority and inferiority.

But for those who are attached to the injunctions

of the variegated scriptures and do not practice

the essence of any and all teachings,

the joys of the spiritual life passes them by

as the joy of the Buddha passes all beings by.

Standing in full support of being

a recipient of selflessness, the wise

work day and night without the aid of the external

world and stand on their two feet,

ready to meet any and all obstacles to full realization.